[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60217-60218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27224]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decrees Under the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
and Notice of Availability and Request for Comments on Draft 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment

    On December 12, 2017, the Department of Justice lodged three 
proposed Consent Decrees with the United States District Court for the 
Eastern District of Wisconsin in the lawsuit entitled United States and 
Wisconsin v. Tecumseh Products Co.; Thomas Industries, Inc.; and 
Wisconsin Public Service Corp., Civil Action No. 2:17-cv-01728. The 
Draft Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment (``RP/EA'') is attached 
to each proposed Consent Decree.
    The proposed Consent Decrees will resolve claims for natural 
resource damages at the Sheboygan River & Harbor Superfund Site 
(``Sheboygan River Site'') brought by the governments under the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 9607. The Sheboygan River Site consists of the 
lower 14 river miles of the Sheboygan River and adjacent floodplain 
areas. The filed complaint alleges that the three Defendants are liable 
under CERCLA for historical industrial discharges of polychlorinated 
biphenyl (``PCB'') and/or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (``PAH'') 
compounds at the Sheboygan River Site. PCBs and PAHs were identified in 
river sediments throughout the Site in sufficient concentrations to 
cause injury to many types of natural resources, including 
invertebrates, fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals. In addition, PCB 
and PAH-contaminated natural resources resulted in the loss of 
recreational fishing services.
    Under CERCLA, federal and state natural resource trustees have 
authority to seek compensation for natural resources harmed by 
hazardous industrial waste and by-products discharged into the 
Sheboygan River. The natural resource trustees here include the U.S. 
Department of the Interior, acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service; the U.S. Department of Commerce, acting through the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and the Wisconsin Department of 
Natural Resources (collectively, the ``Trustees'').
    Under the proposed Consent Decrees, the Defendants will pay a 
combined $4,523,000, of which $2,532,500 will fund Trustee-sponsored 
natural resource restoration projects in accordance with the RP/EA, 
$1,295,500 will be paid to Sheboygan County as partial reimbursement 
for costs it incurred in acquiring the Amsterdam Dunes restoration 
project area, and $695,000 will provide reimbursement for costs 
incurred by the Trustees in assessing the scope of natural resource 
damages incurred. The RP/EA presents the restoration projects proposed 
by the Trustees to restore natural resources and services injured by 
hazardous substances released in and around the Sheboygan River site.
    Consistent with the CERCLA natural resource damages assessment and 
restoration (``NRDAR'') regulations, 43 CFR part 11, and the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (``NEPA''), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq., and its implementing regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508, 
the Trustees evaluated a suite of three alternatives for conducting the 
type and scale of restoration sufficient to compensate the public for 
natural resource injuries and service losses. Based on selection 
factors including location, technical feasibility, cost effectiveness, 
provision of natural resource services similar to those lost due to 
contamination, and net environmental consequences, the Trustees 
identified a preferred alternative.
    Under the preferred alternative, the Trustees envision conducting 
wetland and riparian restoration; wetland, riparian, and ecologically-
associated upland preservation; and recreational enhancement projects 
within the Sheboygan River Basin within Sheboygan County. This would 
include preservation and potential restoration of Amsterdam Dunes and 
Willow Creek.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the Consent Decree and RP/EA.
    Comments on the Consent Decrees should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
and should

[[Page 60218]]

refer to United States and Wisconsin v. Tecumseh Products Co.; Thomas 
Industries, Inc.; and Wisconsin Public Service Corp., D.J. Ref. No. 90-
11-2-06440/1. All comments on the Consent Decrees must be submitted no 
later than thirty (30) days after the publication date of this notice. 
Comments may be submitted either by email or by mail:

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     To submit comments:                     Send them to:
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By email.....................  [email protected].
By mail......................  Assistant Attorney General, U.S. DOJ--
                                ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC
                                20044-7611.
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    During the public comment period, the Consent Decrees may be 
examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. We will provide paper copies of 
the Consent Decrees and/or the RP/EA upon written request and payment 
of reproduction costs. Please mail your request and payment to: Consent 
Decree Library, U.S. DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044-
7611.
    Please enclose a check or money order for $46.75 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury. For paper 
copies of the Consent Decrees without the attached RP/EA, the cost is 
$20.50. For a paper copy of only the RP/EA, the cost is $26.25.
    Comments on the RP/EA should be addressed to Betsy M. Galbraith, 
and reference ``Sheboygan RP/EA'' in the subject line. All comments on 
the RP/EA must be submitted no later than thirty (30) days after the 
publication date of this notice. Comments may be submitted either by 
email or by mail:

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     To submit comments:                     Send them to:
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By email.....................  [email protected].
By mail......................  Betsy M. Galbraith, Sheboygan River
                                Natural Resource Trustee Coordinator,
                                2661 Scott Tower Drive, New Franken, WI
                                54228.
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    During the public comment period, the RP/EA may be examined and 
downloaded at this U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region 
Natural Resource Damage Assessment website: https://www.fws.gov/midwest/es/ec/nrda/SheboyganHarbor.html. As described above, a paper 
copy of the RP/EA may obtained from the Department of Justice as part 
of the Consent Decree upon written request and payment of reproduction 
costs.

Randal M. Stone,
Acting Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, 
Environment and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2017-27224 Filed 12-18-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-15-P